Three-dimension tic-tac-toe apparatus



July 30, 1957 c. s. GREER, JR 2,801,107

THREE-DIMENSION TIC-TAC-TOE APPARATUS Filed Jan. 14, 1954 INVENTORATTORNEY United States Patent TIREE-BEMENSEfi-N TIC-TAQ-TGE APPARATUS S.Greer, Ilia, Albion, Mich.

Application January 14, 1954, Serial No. 404,081

1 Claim. (Cl. 273--i.31)

This invention relates to apparatus for playing the game known astic-tac-toe.

Hitherto the aforesaid game has been generally played with the use ofpaper and pencil, the paper being lined to define squares which arefilled by and X markings.

The present invention has for its object to provide apparatus by whichthe game tic-tac-toe can be played without the use of paper and penciland which forms a permanent piece of apparatus usable over and overagain for playing the game in question.

A further and important object of the invention is to provide apparatusby which the said game can be played in a number of diiferent planesand, in particular, in three different planes, whereby to form, ineffect, threedimension tic-tac-toe apparatus.

The above and further objects and advantages of the invention, residingin the construction, arrangement and combination of parts will appearclear from the following detail description, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, and from the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of apparatus according to the inventionshown in erected condition and showing beads, with which the game isplayed, assembled upon the framework, the beads and the frameworkconstituting the apparatus by which the said game is capable of beingplayed, and

Figure 2 is a section of one of the beads.

Referring to the drawings, apparatus by which the game tic-tac-toe canbe played in three-dimensions comprises a framework and a multiplicityof beads 12 having central bores 14 and constituting playing piecesequivalent to the usual 0 and X markings.

The framework may, conveniently, be made of round section wire and is ofrectangular outline, as shown.

In the particular form illustrated, the frame is built-up from verticalwire rods 16 located at the four corners of a rectangle and formed attheir lower ends with angularly bent up portions 16' to define feet, bywhich the frame can be supported upon a suitable support surface, suchas a table. Secured to the rods 16 on opposite sides of the rectangleare three vertically spaced horizontal and parallel wire rods 18, 18',18" which may be welded to their respective vertical rods 16, asindicated at 20.

The vertical rods 16 on opposite sides of the frame are inter-connectedby transverse wire connections 22, 22 which may be of smaller gage thanthe previously described rods and, at their ends, are bent as indicatedat 24, into loop formation around the rods 18 and 18". In their centralportions, these wire connections 22, 22' are bent into loop formation,as indicated at 26, and are secured by these loop portions to a centralframe composed of the two vertical wire rods 28 and three verticallyspaced and parallel wire rods 30, 30, 30", to which the rods 28 may besecured by welding, as indicated at 32.

Patented July 30, 1957 The aforesaid loop connections 24 and 26 permitthe frame to be collapsed, as a whole, into a flattened position tofacilitate packaging the frame or storage thereof, when not in use.

When erected, as shown in Figure 1, the vertical rods 16 and 28 extendin parallel spaced relation, with the rods 16 and 18 on opposite sides(the left and right-hand sides, as seen in Figure 1) in alignment andwith the horizontal rods 18, 30, 18-18', 30', 18 and 18 30", 18" also inspaced and parallel alignment.

Each of the horizontal rods, aforesaid, is provided with a centralupstanding peg 34 and, at its opposite ends, with further upstandingpegs 36, whereby each said rod has three spaced apart pegs.

The pegs 34 may be formed by separate wire rod sections secured, as bywelding, to their respective horizontal rods, while the pags 36 may beformed by integral bent-up end portions of their respective rods, whichportions extend beyond the vertical rods 16 and 28 such, as it isbelieved, will be clear from examination of Fig ure 1.

The said pegs serve to receive the beads 12 by the engagement of thepegs in the bead bores 14. Beads are provided in number corresponding tothe number of pegs, which is 27, and will be constituted by three setsof 9 beads each of different colors, such as red, blue and yellow.

The pegs take the place of the usual squares while the beads take theplace of the usual 0 and X markings. Otherwise the game is played inaccordance with the well known tic-tac-toe game but because of thethree-dimension arrangement of the playing surfaces containing the pegsthe game is made far more intriguing and provides many possible winningcombinations.

Having thus disclosed my invention, what I claim as novel, and Wish tosecure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

A game apparatus for playing tic-tac-toe comprising a frame havingupstanding peg portions in number and arrangement corresponding to theusual squares of a three-dimensional tic-tac-toe game apparatus and aplurality of bead elements removably engageable with said peg portions,said frame being of rectangular wire construction portions with saidupstanding peg portions being defined on the different wire componentsof said frame, said wire components extending in different planes inwhich there are nine of said peg portions, said beads having openingsfor receiving the same upon said peg portions, said wire components ofsaid frame being swingably connected with each other to permit saidframe to be collapsed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS423,066 Massey Mar. 11, 1890 565,954 Austin Aug. 18, 1896 818,237 ElburnApr. 17, 1906 967,941 Laridon Aug. 23, 1910 1,465,160 Luchio Aug. 14,1923 1,477,523 Ruttenberg Dec. 11, 1923 1,500,767 Rice July 8, 19242,075,619 Klemin Mar. 30, 1937 2,284,518 Green May 26, 1942 2,293,298Macdonald Aug. 18, 1942 2,313,473 Heacock Mar. 9, 1943 2,408,270 RebholzSept. 24, 1946 2,502,328 Kuhn Mar. 28, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 116,522Germany Dec. 31, 1900 259,904 Germany May 16, 1913

